Workforce shortage: The average manufacturing facility today has 5% of jobs currently unfilled, down from 7% in 2014. Despite the decrease, 64% of respondents still believe that their facility’s workforce shortage will increase over the next 3 to 5 years.

Causes: When asked about the primary causes of the workforce shortage, 56% of respondents said there aren’t enough skilled applicants to fill the roles of the growing number of retirees, and another 34% agree that their hiring rates aren’t keeping up with manufacturing’s rapid expansion.

Manufacturing’s image: More than half of respondents still don’t believe that manufacturing is portrayed as a positive career choice in the U.S. Sixty-three percent agree that offering apprenticeship programs would help to improve manufacturing’s image, and another 57% think introducing this career choice at an earlier education level—as well as improving salaries, benefits, and job security—are key action items.